Saturday, April 19, 2008

Grilled Eggplant and Tomato

Spring has sprung. Finally. And I'm allowed to walk around the block. Hooray! Even though I am a champion race walker (for my age group anyway), it was kind of refreshing to walk slowly (and I really mean slowly) and take everything in. The neighbor on the corner one street over has an amazing forsythia bush. It's huge and bright yellow. Other neighbors had blooming daffodils and one neighbor was grilling. And my knee didn't start hurting until I was almost all the way home. And that may have been because some guy I didn't know kind of creeped me out and I realized I couldn't really just pick up the pace and walk past him. I tried. That may have been a bad idea.

So today I felt like grilling. Unfortunately, rain looks imminent so I settled for broiling. For a nice healthy side with dinner I made Grilled Eggplant and Tomato out of the Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook. I changed it up a bit though. The original recipe called for 3/4 cups of crumbled goat cheese. Walmart does not sell goat cheese. At least not here they don't. And I know what you're thinking, it's Weight Watchers so it's probably "diet" food. (Even though their slogan says they're not a diet, I think of them that way too.) But really this antipasti is pretty darn tasty. The Brain even liked it. I used feta instead of the goat cheese and I think the saltiness of it helps. Also I think next time I will omit the tomatoes. Probably I cooked them too long, but they got mushy.

And now I'm going to attempt walking around the block again. Going slowly. Concentrating on walking without a limp and straightening my leg completely. And trying to avoid uneven pavement. And contain my happiness at being able to mosey around the block.


Grilled Eggplant and Tomato

1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chicken broth (it's what I had, the original recipe calls for vegetable broth)
4 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 tomato, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil

Preheat the grill (or broiler). In the food processor or blender, combine the bell pepper, broth, oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper; puree. Place the eggplant and tomato on a sheet of wax paper and brush both sides with the broth mixture; discard any remaining broth mixture.

Broil (grill) the eggplant until lightly charred, about 4 minutes on each side. Broil (grill) the tomatoes about 2 minutes on each side.

Arrange the vegetables on a platter. Sprinkle with the cheese and basil.

Per Serving (1/4 of platter) from original recipe with goat cheese and vegetable broth: 161 Cal, 11g Fat, 0g Trans Fat, 17mg Chol, 260mg Sod, 11g Carb, 2g Fib, 7g Prot, 124mg Calc.
4 points.

9 comments:

Amanda said...

That looks gorgeous! I ate some eggplant today--yum.

Mrs. White said...

Congrats on being able to finally leave the house and walk around a bit! (And the food looks yummy too. :)

glamah16 said...

Your doing well in the recovery! I'll take a helping of this delish antipasti.

Pixie said...

Am glad you were able to take in some sunshine. I adore eggplant and have some to use up in the fridge, I may attempt a version of this recipe today.

Peter M said...

Great dish...filling for those summer days when you want something lite.

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

This is a greaqt way to serve up those eggplants. I think I would enjoy the saltiness of the feta on this dish as well.Thanks for the great recipe! Also glad to hear you're out and about:D

Emily said...

How did you know that I love eggplant?
Isn't it the best? Especially in a dish like this.

LisaRene said...

I have a couple of friends on Weight Watchers and think of it as "healthy eating" as opposed to "diet" food. Seems as it's all about making healthy choices and moderation. One of my friends lost over 100 pounds on Weight Watchers! Very impressive!

I love the idea of grilled tomatoes but end up with the same mushy result you did. I suspect the type of tomato is important and I bet a quick sear on high heat is all they need. I do love the flavor of a grilled tomato and I'll let you know if I figure out the secret :)

Also, I sent you an e-mail with nut ball variations, did you receive it?

Deborah said...

I have that cookbook, and although I've only made 2 dishes out of it, I have really liked both! This one sounds delicious.

I'm glad you are up and on your feet! I bet it feels great to get out of the house, even if it is slowly.